A disaster is imminent. If the issues of fuel supply, maintenance, global licensing costs, and improving salaries for employees at Ogero are not addressed, it won't be long before most residents on Lebanese territory will be unable to make landline and mobile calls, or even access the internet or use applications on their phones and computers. This is not a figment of imagination or an exaggeration. The problem is multifaceted, involving securing electricity, paying in dollars for global licenses, and rising fuel prices... All this indicates that the bankrupt state will not be able to secure the operational costs needed to run Ogero, let alone meet employees' demands for salary increases. This has been articulated by the General Director of Ogero, Imad Kraidy, in a letter addressed to Minister of Telecommunications Johnny Karam on August 28, after sending multiple letters to the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Telecommunications and Finance, as well as all supervisory bodies, without any action taken. The essence of the letter is that it is impossible for the authority to operate and maintain this facility.
The first crisis facing the authority is the lack of electricity supply to the telephone exchanges from the Electricité du Liban, forcing it to secure power through backup generators. However, this procedure requires substantial spending on diesel, oils, filters, and batteries to sustain the minimum operation of these exchanges. The number of these backup generators exceeds 700, with capacities ranging from 35 to 500 KVA at over 330 exchanges operating 24/24, leading to their damage due to the lack of human resources to carry out their maintenance, especially since these works are outside the authority's purview as a provider of electricity.
What exacerbates the situation is the need for the authority to pay amounts in dollars for global licenses to operate computers, international internet gateways, and all the equipment that constitutes the backbone of this sector, in addition to technical support, maintenance of submarine cables, and leasing international capacities to connect Lebanon with the outside world. In light of these costs, the last maintenance and operation contract signed with the Ministry of Telecommunications - the General Directorate of Investment and Maintenance was valued at 48.3 billion LBP, which is insufficient to operate the backup generators for more than a few days. Therefore, Ogero requested treasury advances due to the non-issuance of the general budget for 2022 and the lack of a new contract organization with the ministry.
Kraidy requested in his letter, aimed at "raising responsibility from us due to the catastrophic consequences," to organize the maintenance and operation contract for 2022 and secure allocations on a 12-month basis, keep the Media and Telecommunications Committee informed of what the sector is suffering, and work with Electricité du Liban to secure public electricity supply for the main telephone exchanges: Ras Beirut, Ras el Nabaa, Ashrafiyeh, Nahr Beirut, Jdeideh, Port of Hossn, Adliyeh, and Badaro.
The same problem applies to the costs of employees who have been on an open-ended strike for four days demanding improved salaries that have eroded due to inflation. The strike has led to a halt in maintenance and operation works in all of the authority's centers across Lebanon until their salaries are corrected, resulting in the near total shutdown of the Ashrafiyeh, Hamra, Ras el Nabaa, Shiyah, and Nahr Beirut exchanges, except for those powered by the official electricity supply. This stoppage means that 100,000 subscribers, including individuals and institutions, are off the network, unable to make phone calls or connect via the internet, in addition to increasing pressure on other exchanges.
The situation is even more catastrophic as these centers are not solely the responsibility of Ogero; some are shared exchanges between Ogero, Touch, and Alfa, which effectively means a potential halt of landline, mobile, and internet services in most Lebanese regions. Of course, Beirut will be the first to feel the impact, and the situation is anticipated to extend beyond the capital, with reports of the impending shutdown of the Sidon center as well, despite the intervention of MP Bahia Hariri to keep it operational, followed by other centers in succession.
